Justin Bieber Posted A Serious Instagram About Racism & Took Responsibility For His Past

Justin Bieber took to Instagram to share a powerful message about racism and inequality on Wednesday, Dec. 4. It's unclear what prompted Justin Bieber's latest Instagram about racism, but he used it as an opportunity to reflect and take responsibility for his past mistakes. And after seeing Bieber's message, his fans are standing by him 100%.

Bieber shared a graphic to his Instagram page which read, "STAND AGAINST RACISM," and captioned it with a lengthy message reflecting on his past mistakes.

"When I was young I was uneducated and found myself saying really hurtful things not knowing the power of my words," he began. "Racism is still very prevalent and I want to use my voice to remind we are all human being and all of EQUAL VALUE BEFORE GOD!"

This isn't the first time Bieber has spoken out about offensive behavior in his past. Like many stars who grew up in the public eye, Bieber has been the subject of many controversies, and some of the things that slipped out of his mouth over the years weren't admirable. Based on this Instagram, he's the first to admit it.

But there's one particular controversy Bieber might be alluding to in his Dec. 4 post. In 2014, a video surfaced of Bieber cracking an offensive joke that included the n-word. The video was filmed in 2011 when he was 15 years old, but that didn't stop Bieber from taking responsibility. Bieber issued an apology for his comments at the time, admitting his behavior was "childish and inexcusable."

Here's his entire statement (via Billboard):

As a kid, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance. Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologized for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologize again to all those I have offended. I'm very sorry. I take my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable mistake.

Bieber hasn't revealed what spurred his 2019 post reflecting on racism, but he's used Instagram to self-reflect in the past, so this isn't out of the ordinary.

Many fans are backing his message all the way. "It is powerful to admit mistakes and move toward change," one fan wrote in the comments. "Thank you for speaking up," another wrote. Apparently, for Bieber, it's never too late to say sorry.